Joslin
A feminine name of French origin, a diminutive of Josiane or Josephine.
Name Census estimates that about 1,367 living Americans carry the first name Joslin. It is a predominantly female name (99.3% of registrations). The average person named Joslin today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Joslin births was 2010 (67 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Joslin. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
1.4K
~ 1 in 250,735 Americans
Peak year
2010
67 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
1977 SSA rank
#3,722
Tracked since 1951
Census
Joslin in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,469 people with the first name Joslin, which placed it at #9,443 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#9,443
National first-name rank
People counted
1.5K
1,469 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
50.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Joslin
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Joslin is White at 50.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (21.6%) and Black (15.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Joslin described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Joslin at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White50.8% · 746
- Hispanic or Latino21.6% · 318
- Black or African American15.3% · 225
- Two or more races6.5% · 95
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.6% · 68
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 17
Gender
Gender distribution for Joslin
Out of the 1,411 babies given the name Joslin since 1880, 99.3% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Joslin as a male name
- Ranked #3,722 in 1977
- 10 male births in 1977
- Peak: 1977 (10 births)
Joslin as a female name
- Ranked #14,226 in 2024
- 6 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2010 (67 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Joslin leans strongly female. 1,361 people counted with this name were female (93.3%), compared with 98 male bearers (6.7%).
Popularity
Joslin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Joslin from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 450 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Joslin by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Joslin during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Joslins live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. Texas, California, Indiana recorded the most babies named Joslin, while Utah, New York, Missouri recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 16 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Joslin
The name Joslin is an English variant of the biblical name Jocelyn, which itself is derived from the French name Josselin. The name Josselin has its roots in the Breton language, originating from the word "iauic," meaning "she who is youthful."
The name Joslin first gained popularity in medieval Europe, particularly in England and France. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which documented a landowner named Josceline in Lincolnshire, England.
In the 12th century, the name Joslin appeared in the writings of the renowned English historian William of Malmesbury, who mentioned a nobleman named Joscelin de Louvain. This Joscelin de Louvain played a significant role in the Norman conquest of England and later became the Prince of Galilee during the First Crusade.
Another notable figure bearing the name Joslin was Josseline de Flandre, a 13th-century Countess of Flanders and Hainaut. She was known for her involvement in the conflict between France and England during the Hundred Years' War.
In the 14th century, the name Joslin gained popularity among the English gentry. One notable example was Josselyn Percy, a member of the influential Percy family and a participant in the Peasants' Revolt of 1381.
During the Renaissance period, the name Joslin continued to be used across Europe. One noteworthy figure was Josselin de Courtenay, a French nobleman and military commander who fought in the Italian Wars of the 16th century.
As the name Joslin spread throughout Europe, it also found its way into various literary works. In the 17th century, the English poet John Milton mentioned a character named Jocelyn in his epic poem "Paradise Lost."
While the name Joslin has become less common in modern times, it has left an indelible mark on history. From noble families to literary characters, the name Joslin has been carried by individuals who have shaped the course of events across centuries.
People
Joslin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Joslin as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Joslin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Joslin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,367 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Joslin going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 250,735 US residents.
Is Joslin a common name?
We classify Joslin as "Rare". It ranks above 91.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,411 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Joslin most popular?
The single biggest year for Joslin was 2010, when 67 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Joslin is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Joslin in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,469 people with the name Joslin, or 0.49 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,443 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Joslin in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Joslin?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Joslin leans strongly female. 1,361 people counted with this name were female (93.3%), compared with 98 male bearers (6.7%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Joslin?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Joslin is White at 50.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (21.6%) and Black (15.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Joslin most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Joslin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 50.8% (746 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Joslin in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Joslin a female name?
Yes, 99.3% of people registered as Joslin in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Joslin still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Joslin in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Joslin can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Joslin as a first name?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Joslin, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.